Plextor M5M mSATA SSD for Ultrabooks and Tablet PCs Announced

Plextor introduces the new M5M mSATA, which boasts a sequential read speed of 540MB/s and a write speed of 430MB/s in the highly compact JEDEC MO-300 form factor.

Powered by the Marvell 88SS9187 controller, it features random read/write speeds of 80K IOPS/77K IOPS, and supports the SATA DEVSLP standard, enabling longer battery life with a mere DEVSLP power consumption of 1mW. Designed specifically for ultrabook and tablet PC devices, the calculated mean time between failures is an impressive 2.4 million hours. This mSATA SSD shares the same controller as its larger form factor counterpart; the Plextor M5 Pro SSD (256GB), which we reviewed late last year. This third generation SATA controller is also featured in Crucial M4 and both drives were put to the test in our recent high-end SSD shootout.

Backed by a three-year warranty, the M5M mSATA SSD comes in capacities of 64GB, 128GB, and 256GB. As a note of interest to our readers, Mushkin recently announced the availability of their 480GB mSATA SSD for a princely sum of US$499.99, targeting users who demand for storage beyond usual 256GB ceiling.